B) Despite her increased prominence in recent years Arianne Zucker isn't really considered one of the faces of Days by any means

She is to hordes of AZ fans like me. I've watched the show for over 25 years, and she clearly ranks as my favorite character. Lots of fans are bummed that she won't be there.

Don't get me wrong, I like AZ and Nicole very much. In fact, she's my favorite of the four non-attendees. I just don't think the lack of her presence spells calamity for the event or show in general.

My only real issue with anyone not attending is when it's last minute. There are excuses I could buy, but the ones we've heard from the two that pulled out the most recently aren't good enough. I mean, if you're attending this event to see KA, you should learn to read. She's never been on the list. So if you get there and are surprised not to see her, you really should do some research before you hop on a plane. Lauren announced she wouldn't be there a few weeks ago, so that's also a little more passable. But I'd be pissed if I had planned to come because I wanted to see AZ or AS. They were both listed as attending, and they didn't pull out (whether by choice or not) until the last minute. People are flying in for this. And I'm going to go out on a limb and say that not all Days fans have money to burn to fly back and forth to LA.

I don't think any of these absences spell calamity for the show. I do find AS's absence interesting just because NBC hasn't been using her for squat lately. So they finally use her and it's a day they already have her booked? Maybe they're going to announce Sami's death at the event. Fingers crossed!